Restraining harness



June 29, 1965 s. s. KENDELL 3,191,599

RESTRAINING HARNESS Filed 000. 29, 1962 FIG-2 INVENTOR.

SARA S. KENDELL ATTORNEYS United States Patent The present inventionrelates to safetybelts or harnesses, especially for use in hospitals andnursing homes.

In certain types of sickness, and sometimes in convalescence, thepatient becomes abnormally restless, often shifting his position acrossthe bed and unless restrained, might roll off the edge and sufferinjury. Various forms of harness have been devised to provide thisrestraining effect but most, if not all, allow so little movement, evenin the permissible directions, that the patient would never wear theharness voluntarily as a safety measure.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a belt or harness oflight weight, completely devoid of buckles and which will allowreasonable movement on the part of the patient while preventing anyextreme movement as might result in injury. 7

Another object is to provide a belt or harness of the type mentionedwhich is inexpensive to manufacture, readily cleansed and easilyapplied, even by an inexperienced person.

Other objects and features will be apparent as the specification isperused in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 represents a fragmentary view of the improved harness or beltas applied to a patient lying in bed;

FIGURE 2 shows an enlarged view of the harness held to a shape asreadily-would be applied to a patient;

FIGURE 3 depicts a fragmentary sectional View, somewhat enlarged, andtaken along line 33 in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 depicts the manner in which the harness can be applied to apatient in a chair; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modified form of theimproved harness.

Referring more particularly to FIGURE 2, reference character 1represents a long strip of interwoven webbing of a strong andnon-stretchable character. The webbing may be made of heavy cotton yarntightly knitted together. The webbing may, for example, be about oneinch wide and possibly one-eighth inch thick but of dimensions dependingupon the use to which the harness is to be put, i.e., whether for man,woman or child and the amount of restraint necessary.

At a position approximately one-fourth of the distance from the end 2 ofthe strip, there is a heavy inside layer 3 of soft white felt of aboutone foot long and sewed, as indicated at 4, to the webbing or strip.This felt layer may, if desired, be somewhat wider than the width of theWebbing in order to add greater comfort across the shoulder to thewearer as will be more fullydescribed hereinafter.

One end of the webbing 1 is sewed as indicated at 5 "ice apart at thetop as seen in FIGURE 2 and are so positioned as to rest lightly aboutthe shoulders of the wearer. The strip 10 is provided at positionsrepresented by the breast bone in front and at the middle of the back,just below the shoulder blades of the wearer, with short loops ofwebbing material sewed at the ends to the different portions of thestrip 10. These loops preferably lie along the outside surface of thestrip when the harness is in position to be placed over the shoulder ofthe wearer. These short strips are of a length as loosely to receive thefront and back portions of the webbing l. The latter is thereforeadapted freely to slide within the loops and thus accommodate theharness as a whole to the body of the wearer. The lower end 12 of thestrip 10 is made fast to the webbing 7 as by sewing 13 so that the ends2 and 12 are fixedly secured to the webbing 7 at approximately theopposite ends of the felt 8. The sewed end portions of strips 1 and 10are preferably positioned between the felt layer and the strips in orderthat only the soft material 8 presses against the body.

When it is desired to restrain a patient in bed for safety reasons, theharness is held in the position shown in FIG- URE 2 and gently droppedover the head of the patient as seen in FIGURE 1 with the felt members 3resting on the shoulders. The felt layer 8 is laid across the abdomen ofthe patient as indicated in FIGURE 1 and the lower hand loop 11 (FIGURE2) and the lower ends of the to a wide strip of webbing materialdesignated at 7. The

middle portion of the webbing is intended to encircle the waist of thewearer. In order to make this encirclement more comfortable, a heavylayer 8 of soft felt, wider than the strip if desired, may be sewed asindicated at 9 to the inside surface of the strip 7. It will be notedthat this felt layer, which may perhaps be about twelve inches long, ispositioned about midway of the length of the strip 7.

There is a third piece of webbing 10 employed in the improved harness.This webbing or strip is formed of similar character, width, thicknessand length as the webbing 1. The webbing 10 is provided with an insidelayer of soft felt 3 sewed as indicatedat 6 to the webbing. The feltlayers 3 and their attached webbing can be spread strips are also loopedand/or tied to the opposite bed rails as indicated at 14.

It will be noted that the short piece of webbing 11 which in effect formeyelets for loosely receiving the strip 1 constitute soft fiat elements,in contradistinction to metal buckles so that there can be no irritationto the front or rear portion of the body of the wearer. In other words,the patient can lie comfortably down on these loops since they are offlat character and the Webbing is relatively soft.

These loosely fitting loops 11 serve the purpose of not only holding thestrips 1, 10 together with their sewed ends 2, 12 in position, but also,permits parts of the bar ness to adjust itself to the body of thepatient and the only restraining effects are exercised by the pull atthe lower ends of the strips Where connection can be made to the bedrail so that in this case the amount of restraining force is alreadyadapted to the particular circumstances.

It will be apparent that the patient shown in FIGURE 1 could quitereadily come to a half reclining position from the prone positionwithout any need for loosening the bed rail turns, and with a smallloosening effect, the patient can easily come to a full sitting positionwhile still being restrained in a sidewise direction. On the other hand,if a rigid rest-raining effect is desired, it is merely necessary toexercise a more than normal pull on the lower ends of the strips 1, 10and securely tie these strips to the bed rail.

The improved harness is also of assistance in restraining a patientwhile seated in a chair as shown in FIGURE 4. The chair is indicated at15. The strip 7 which passes around the abdomen of the patient is merelylooped or tied to the back stays of the chair while the rear portionsforward at the waist and yet be securely fastened to the chair so as tobe unable to fall out of the chair sidewise.

It is evident that I have disclosed a new form of restraining harnesswhich can be applied equally to mildly or violently re-active patientswhether man, woman or child, depending on the weight of the harness,thickness an-d'width of the webbing, etc. It is equally suitable to bedor chair use and yet the harness in all cases would rest comfortably onthe shoulders and about the waist of the patient with no metallicobjects necessary for tightening purposes.

The webbing is extremely strong and responds only to a laborious cuttingeffect. It is very comp-act in nature and thus, can be readily stored inlarge numbers within small boxes in hospitals and nursing homes. Uponbeing removed from the storage box it is available for instant usesince, as it has already been stated, the various parts accommodatethemselves to the body on account of the sliding effect exercised at theshort lengths 11. The harness is of such a light character that it hasnone of the earmarks of .a strait jacket .and yet it will perform allthe functions of a strait jacket as far as bed and chair use isconcerned without any reticence on the part of a patient who merelyneeds a mild restraining effect from voluntarily using the same.

One of the chief advantages of the improved harness is the matter of itsinexpensiveness of construction as the webbing, land the inside feltlayers may be procured at low cost and all of the joints are obtainedsolely through an inexpensive sewing operation. There are no metalbuckles employed, which are not only expensive, but sometimes are asource of danger to the patient, in fact, there is absolutely nothingabout the harness by which a patient could suffer injury of any kind.

It may sometimes be necessary, but only in violent cases, to bind thewrists of a patient as well as provide for the sidewise restrainingoifered by the harness illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 4. The improvedharness lends itself to the use of an accessory which can readily beemployed'for arm or Wrist restraint. In FIGURE 5 there is-shown a pairof strips of webbing attached to the abdomen strip 7 at the sewing 16 atpositions beyond the ends of the soft felt layer 8. The strips 15terminate in self-gripping buckles 17 of any suitable and well knowntype and which normally loosely receive the strips. Thu-s, loops areformed which can be enlarged at the buckles to slip over the hands ofthe patient and tighten against the Wrists. Soft layers of felt 18 maybe secured as indicated at 19 to the interior surface of the loops so asnot to .abrade the skin when the buckles are tightened.

It will be noted in FIGURE 5 that the improved harness when providedwith the wrist locks are all complete in that whenever it is necessaryto mildly restrain a patient for sidewise movement in the bed, and alsoprovide ref straint at the wrists, the application of the harness willtake care of all of the restraint, whatever may be necessary. The wristlocks may be left on the harness and not used in case it is desired toprovide only a sidewise restraint. The wrist restraints can be appliedwhile the harness is already in place and the patient is restrained in aprone or sitting position.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modificationin order toadapt it to different usages and conditions; and accordingly,it is desired to comprehend such modifications within this invention asmay fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: I

1. A restraining harness for a patient comprising a pair of strips offlexible material, one of said strips having a pair of loops for looselyreceiving two separate portions of the other strip to form crossingpoints at the front and back of the harness, the upper portions of thestrips between the crossing poin-ts being adapted to pass over theopposite shoulders of the patient, a third strip of flexible materialbeing adapted to pass around the abdomen of the patient, one set of endsof said pair of strips being secured at separate positions to said thirdstrip, and the ends of all the strips except said one set of endsextending down the back and also from opposite sides of the patient andadapted to be wrapped around stationary objects whereby a pull on theshoulder and abdomen strips causes restraint to be exercised on thepatient.

2. A restraining harness for throwing over the shoulders and encirclingthe waist of a patient, said harness comprising a pair of strips offlexible material, one of said strips being provided with a pair ofloops of webbing material sewed to the strip for loosely receiving theother strip at separate crossing points at the front and back of theharness, respectively, said crossing'point-s coinciding approximatelywith the breast bone of the patient and a position just below theshoulder blades, the upper portions of the strips between the crossingpoints being adapted to pass over the opposite shoulders of the patient,.a layer of flexible felt sewed to the inside surface of the WebbingWhere the strips come into con-tact with the shoulders, a third strip ofwebbing material adapted to pass around the abdomen of the patient, alayer of soft felt sewed to said third strip at least over that portionthat comes in contact with the abdomen, the ends of the Webbing materialrepresented by the lower portions of the strips below the back crossingpoint extending downwardly along the back of the patient and adapted tobe secured to a stationary object, the ends of the strip which passesaround the abdomen extending outwardly from the patient and adapted tobe secured to a stationary object whereby tightening of any of thestrips below the front and back crossing points and also the stripsbeyond the abdomen portion serves to apply restraint tothe patientwithin the harness.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,245,293 6/41Ogburn 128134 2,252,357 8/41 Shaw 128-134 2,289,726 7/42 Prespare 128134FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner,

1. A RESTRAINING HARNESS FOR A PATIENT COMPRISING A PAIR OF STRIPS OFFLEXIBLE MATERIAL, ONE OF SAID STRIPS HAVING A PAIR OF LOOPS FOR LOOSELYRECEIVING TWO SEPARATE PORTIONS OF THE OTHER STRIP TO FORM CROSSINGPOINTS AT THE FRONT AND BACK OF THE HARNESS, THE UPPER PORTIONS OF THESTRIPS BETWEEN THE CROSSING POINTS BEING ADAPTED TO PASS OVER THEOPPOSITE SHOULDERS OF THE PATIENT, A THIRD STRIP OF FLEXIBLE MATERIALBEING ADAPTED TO PASS AROUND THE ABDOMENT OF THE PATIENT, ONE SET OFENDS OF SAID PAIR OF STRIPS BEING SECURED AT SEPARATE POSITIONS TO SAIDTHIRD STRIP, AND THE END OF ALL THE STRIPS EXCEPT SAID ONE SET OF ENDSEXTENDING DOWN THE BACK AND ALSO FROM OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE PATIENT AND